Reiterating an "overweight" buying recommendation for shares of Yahoo stock, the influential securities research team at JP Morgan this morning issued a report to investors suggesting that an imminent recovery in the online display advertising marketplace could be the "catalyst" for a rebound at the online portal giant.
"In 2009, one of the hardest hit Internet sectors has been display advertising. At Yahoo, owned-and-operated display advertising revenues were down 12% in the first three quarters of 2009 and accounted for roughly 25% of gross revenue in third quarter (and a substantially higher percentage of profitability). Thus, we think a recovery in display advertising dollars could be a catalyst for Yahoo's stock," the analysts wrote, noting that positive signs are mounting, including an improvement in key vertical ad categories, such as automotive and finance, which account for roughly 25% of Yahoo's online advertising revenue.
"Revenue from those two verticals was down more than 15% during the first nine months," the researchers noted, adding, "However, based on our industry checks, we think auto and finance advertisement trends are improving in the fourth quarter. Additionally we think the comps are getting easier. Therefore we think our owned and operated display advertising estimate for 1.5% growth in fiscal 2010 could be too conservative."
Another positive sign for Yahoo is the fact that big premium publishers are shifting their focus to "price integrity," which JPMorgan said should help bolster Yahoo's display advertising business, as well. Specifically, the analysts cited Time Warner's spin-off of AOL, and reports that CBS plans to discontinue selling its premium online ad inventory via third-party ad networks.
"We believe these moves by larger publishers will improve price integrity for the display advertising market as a whole," the analysts wrote. "Considering Yahoo is the largest display ad publisher, we see it as a likely beneficiary of pricing improvements."
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A Comedy Show Debuts On Yahoo—With A Sponsor
Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO)—which has promised to up the amount of original content on its properties—has launched a new comedy show on Yahoo TV; it features a recap of funny moments on TV the night before. What stands out about the new show, however, is that it is entirely sponsored by food giant ConAgra and will incorporate the company’s brands throughout. The example from the release: “The first episodes will feature a segment called ‘Ingredients for Good Comedy’ centered around what goes into making a show funny, sponsored by Marie Callender’s—using fresh-tasting ingredients to make a great meal at home or the office with Marie Callender’s Home-Style Creations.”
Expect many similar deals to come. Last month, Yahoo said it was partnering with WPP’s GroupM Entertainment to “help marketers creatively incorporate their brands into original online programming” across Yahoo properties. Several sponsored shows—including one that follows a touring rock band and another that tracks unemployed job searchers—are reportedly under consideration as part of that agreement.
A spokesman clarifies that the ConAgra deal—which will span a year—is separate from the GroupM partnership, since it was done directly with Yahoo, ConAgra, and ConAgra’s agency MediaCom. However, he says it is representative of the company’s focus on branded content.
Watch on Yahoo TV
Expect many similar deals to come. Last month, Yahoo said it was partnering with WPP’s GroupM Entertainment to “help marketers creatively incorporate their brands into original online programming” across Yahoo properties. Several sponsored shows—including one that follows a touring rock band and another that tracks unemployed job searchers—are reportedly under consideration as part of that agreement.
A spokesman clarifies that the ConAgra deal—which will span a year—is separate from the GroupM partnership, since it was done directly with Yahoo, ConAgra, and ConAgra’s agency MediaCom. However, he says it is representative of the company’s focus on branded content.
Watch on Yahoo TV
Right Media Founder to Leave Yahoo
Michael Walrath, who sold the online-advertising exchange Right Media to Yahoo for $680 million in 2007, is the latest high-profile executive to depart the Internet company.
Right Media founder Michael WalrathMr. Walrath, whose most recent title at Yahoo was senior vice president of advertising strategy, explained his decision to leave Yahoo in an interview. He said it was the right time to “move on in my career” and that he looks forward to “taking some time off and working with small innovative companies.”
A Yahoo spokesman thanked Mr. Walrath for his contributions and said the company has confidence in its “strong and experienced display advertising team.”
Walrath’s departure has been rumored inside Yahoo ever since he traded a role overseeing a large portion of Yahoo’s advertising technology for a strategy job earlier this year.
Overseeing Right Media, along with some of Yahoo’s other advertising technologies, now falls to Bill Wise, another former Right Media executive, who is Yahoo’s vice president for ad platforms.
But Right Media continues to face serious challenges, including fresh competition from Google, which recently announced its own ad exchange.
Advertising exchanges, of which Right Media was one of the first, create an auction around buying and selling display ads, or graphical ads. Publishers open up a certain amount of their available ad space to the exchange and advertisers compete to purchase it.
Yahoo purchased Right Media to tap a new area of the display ad market and to try to grow the number of display advertisers by making buying a banner ad as easy and cost-efficient as buying a search ad.
But the promises have been slow to materialize, as many marketers have steered clear of purchasing through exchanges due to the perception they carry only lower-quality inventory.
In an interview Monday, Wise was bullish about Right Media and said that the Yahoo is rebranding the platform to focus on premium publishers, kicking off lower-quality ad networks and publishers. Right Media also plans to integrate with other ad exchanges, he said, and is working more closely with ad holding companies.
“We always thought there would be a maturation phase where Right Media would move more up market and Carol (Bartz) has come in and accelerated the road map,” he said, referring to Yahoo’s chief executive.
Right Media founder Michael WalrathMr. Walrath, whose most recent title at Yahoo was senior vice president of advertising strategy, explained his decision to leave Yahoo in an interview. He said it was the right time to “move on in my career” and that he looks forward to “taking some time off and working with small innovative companies.”
A Yahoo spokesman thanked Mr. Walrath for his contributions and said the company has confidence in its “strong and experienced display advertising team.”
Walrath’s departure has been rumored inside Yahoo ever since he traded a role overseeing a large portion of Yahoo’s advertising technology for a strategy job earlier this year.
Overseeing Right Media, along with some of Yahoo’s other advertising technologies, now falls to Bill Wise, another former Right Media executive, who is Yahoo’s vice president for ad platforms.
But Right Media continues to face serious challenges, including fresh competition from Google, which recently announced its own ad exchange.
Advertising exchanges, of which Right Media was one of the first, create an auction around buying and selling display ads, or graphical ads. Publishers open up a certain amount of their available ad space to the exchange and advertisers compete to purchase it.
Yahoo purchased Right Media to tap a new area of the display ad market and to try to grow the number of display advertisers by making buying a banner ad as easy and cost-efficient as buying a search ad.
But the promises have been slow to materialize, as many marketers have steered clear of purchasing through exchanges due to the perception they carry only lower-quality inventory.
In an interview Monday, Wise was bullish about Right Media and said that the Yahoo is rebranding the platform to focus on premium publishers, kicking off lower-quality ad networks and publishers. Right Media also plans to integrate with other ad exchanges, he said, and is working more closely with ad holding companies.
“We always thought there would be a maturation phase where Right Media would move more up market and Carol (Bartz) has come in and accelerated the road map,” he said, referring to Yahoo’s chief executive.
Bing, Google Increase Market Share While Yahoo Declines
Latest search market data from comScore show that both Bing and Google have gained in October while Yahoo continues its slump. Google remained steady at the top with 65.4% market share from September’s 64.9%. Bing on the other hand managed to post a 9.9% marker share from 9.4% in September.
Meanwhile, Yahoo seems to be suffering, probably from Bing’s gain with 18% market share in October from September’s 18.8% data.
Another interesting point is the fact that Bing’s Y/Y growth is at a significant 30.8% from 2008. This maybe naturall, espcecially since prior to Bing, Microsoft search, was in a big slump for the past several years as well.
What really matters now is whether Bing and Yahoo’s combined search market share will have enough force to get some more search market juices from Google. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing until probably after the first quarter of 2010.
Meanwhile, Yahoo seems to be suffering, probably from Bing’s gain with 18% market share in October from September’s 18.8% data.
Another interesting point is the fact that Bing’s Y/Y growth is at a significant 30.8% from 2008. This maybe naturall, espcecially since prior to Bing, Microsoft search, was in a big slump for the past several years as well.
What really matters now is whether Bing and Yahoo’s combined search market share will have enough force to get some more search market juices from Google. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing until probably after the first quarter of 2010.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Yahoo Previews "It's Y!ou" Ad Campaign
Move over Carol Bartz - Yahoo is under new management. At least that's what the company is telling the world in its latest ad campaign.
"It's Y!ou," the company's latest, and reportedly most ambitious, ad campaign is a celebration of that second person pronoun best known for snagging Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year: you.
"The Internet is under new management," reads the copy of the company's latest ad. "Yours."
Yahoo is kicking of its "single-largest global integrated marketing campaign ever" next Monday in the U.S. The campaign will expand to the UK and India on October 5, and will hit even more global markets, including Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan next year.
Yahoo isn't releasing a lot of information about the campaign before its September 28 launch, but in a Tuesday blog post, Yahoo executive vice president Elisa Steele assured us that "this is much more than an advertising campaign," adding, "it's our promise to you that your life online will become more personal and more meaningful with Yahoo."
Earlier today, Yahoo also launched a new search results page.
"It's Y!ou," the company's latest, and reportedly most ambitious, ad campaign is a celebration of that second person pronoun best known for snagging Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year: you.
"The Internet is under new management," reads the copy of the company's latest ad. "Yours."
Yahoo is kicking of its "single-largest global integrated marketing campaign ever" next Monday in the U.S. The campaign will expand to the UK and India on October 5, and will hit even more global markets, including Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan next year.
Yahoo isn't releasing a lot of information about the campaign before its September 28 launch, but in a Tuesday blog post, Yahoo executive vice president Elisa Steele assured us that "this is much more than an advertising campaign," adding, "it's our promise to you that your life online will become more personal and more meaningful with Yahoo."
Earlier today, Yahoo also launched a new search results page.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
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